KATHMANDU, JULY 5: The government has decided to extend the terms of the projects that will expire within the current fiscal year but have not progressed as per the agreement. The government issued the Public Procurement (12th Amendment) Regulation 2078 BS on Monday and decided to extend the deadline of the projects that have been neglected till June 2023.
Less than three months after the government issued the 11th amendment to the Public Procurement Regulations, the 12th amendment to the regulation has been introduced. The notice to amend the regulation was published in the Gazette on March 17. In the gazette notice issued by a meeting of the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers on Monday about the 12th amendment, the construction companies are requested to apply to the body concerned for the extension of the deadline within 21 days.
Upon receipt of the application, the authorized officer concerned may check the submitted schedule and, if necessary, modify and resubmit it to the construction entrepreneurs concerned. After the submission of the revised schedule, the bid-approving authority can set at least two milestones and extend the deadline till mid-June 2023 at most without incurring any additional financial burden.
There is a provision that the body concerned should extend the deadline within 30 days of receiving the application. However, the procurement regulations state that no application will be made for extension nor will extension be given for projects that have not carried out any work as per the agreement for six months. The government has issued the Public Procurement (12th Amendment) Regulations 2021/22 so that domestic construction entrepreneurs can get contracts for projects worth up to Rs 5 billion. The government has amended the previous provision of allowing domestic construction companies to bid for contracts of up to Rs 3 billion and has included the provision of taking contracts of up to Rs 5 billion.
In the 10th amendment to the regulations, domestic construction companies were allowed to bid for contracts for works worth up to Rs 1 billion.
Clause 'C' of the Sub-rule 1 of Rule 26 of the rules has replaced the words 'five years' with 'ten years'. The 12th amendment to the rules stipulates that in case of procurements between Rs 20 million and Rs 50 million, at least one equivalent of 40 percent of the cost estimate and in case of procurement above Rs 50 million, 60 percent of the cost estimate should be kept. In the 11th amendment to the rules, the work experience has been reduced from 80 percent in the past to 60 percent now.
Irrespective of what is written elsewhere in the amended regulations, after this bylaw is implemented, construction entrepreneurs who have signed agreements for as many as five bids as their solo project or as joint ventures, but haven’t completed works as per the agreements of those projects will not be allowed to take part in open bids called for construction as solo or as a joint venture partner.